Success tips

How do you approach failure?

1 Comment

Failure and how you approach it can lead to more failure or tremendous success.  Are you afraid of failure and as such, rarely risk attempting anything new?  Are you a remedial failure – you fail a few times before you learn something from your experience?  Are you a habitual failure that fails every time you attempt to do something new?  Or do you embrace failure and look for the learning experience each time you do not succeed?

Analyze the last time you failed.  How did it make you feel?  Did you feel upset and distraught?  Did the experience leave you feeling puzzled and curious?  Did the experience make you analyze why you failed and how you could have improved to prevent the same result again? Or did you have an ah ha moment resulting in you knowing exactly what happened and why?  It is critically important to know what happened that lead to your failure and why.  If you tweaked your presentation, asked more questions, spoke with the decision maker, or reworked your numbers would you have won?  Ask for feedback from the client, your peers or mentors to determine how you could improve to gain more achievement.

People who have experienced tremendous failures understand and recognize the importance of what happened so they can grow from the experience and build toward success.  Keep an open mind when you fail – be optimistic that you will find a better way to accomplish your task – learn from you mistake and move on to finding an alternative solution.  Also, build upon the experience of other successful people to learn how they adapted to failure:

Henry Ford Failure Quote:

"Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely."

~ Henry Ford

 

Thomas Alva Edison Failure Quotation:

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

~ Thomas Alva Edison

 

Benjamin Disraeli Failure/Success Quote:

"All my successes have been built on my failures."

~ Benjamin Disraeli

 

Sir Winston Churchill Quote on Failures:

"Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm."

~ Sir Winston Churchill

 

Thomas H. Palmer Quote on Failure:

"IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED, TRY, TRY AGAIN. Don't give up too easily; persistence pays off in the end.”      ~Thomas H. Palmer

In addition to this, you must try.  Don’t sit back and wait for something to happen.  Take action, massive action towards your goals and then remember it is imperative that you keep positive, be persistent, move on and concentrate on your next task and don’t lose your enthusiasm to get the results you are looking for out of your efforts.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Now, go sell something!

Slow & steady we move along…

Leave a comment

The real estate market is moving steadily along today but with reservation.  As corporations continue to move into our area and the state attracts businesses all over the Commonwealth, we were ranked #7 in the most transient states in the country – pretty impressive for those of us selling houses!  In order to be successful, you have to find the buyers and sellers so get out there and get busy looking – they won’t come to you, you have to go to them!

In addition to this, existing home sales increased 7.6% in April.  This was expected as the home buyer tax credit was set to expire but let’s keep a close eye on this in the coming months and see if the sales momentum continues.  We should be in good shape and should continue to outpace the rest of the country as we continue to create jobs, have affordable housing prices, and interest rates remain low.

Not only did existing home sales increase but so did new home sales!  New home sales rose 14.8% in April – the highest performance in two years!  Be wary however as the pace of new home permits dropped 10.7% in April as well.  We can expect this number to drop next month as a result of fewer permits being issued couple with low builder inventory.

Mortgage interest rates also continue to be a driving force in continued sales.  This week it was reported interest rates are at their lowest level since December as the instability in financial markets overseas have lowered borrowing costs.  If rates continue to stay low, buyers will understand the fundamentals for ownership are strong and will continue buy homes.

Another key to the market continuing to blossom this spring is consumer confidence.  As the economy continues to improve and we ease out of the recession, consumers believe their personal situation is improving and as a result, they are spending again.  As we know, consumers drive the recovery in their “perception” of their situation and not necessarily, reality.

Now, let’s talk about the reservation part of the blog.  Although refinance applications remain strong – they have increased 3 consecutive weeks – purchase applications have continued to decrease and have done so four consecutive weeks.  As a result, purchase applications have dropped to their lowest levels since 1997.  Keep a close eye on this number as it indicates future settlements on home purchases.

Next, is the double dip in home prices that Dave Stevens mentioned at our year end meeting in December.  Two price indices – the dreaded S&P Case-Shiller and the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported housing price decreases in the first quarter.  As we have mentioned, the under $400,000 market and the $800,000 – $1,000,000 market continue to be strong but the inventory priced between $400,000 – $800,000 are still trying to find the bottom and that is where a majority of our houses are priced today.  Couple this with the fact that mortgage delinquency rates have hit 10% – a record.  If these homes go into foreclosure and don’t end up as a HAP sale or a short sale, prices could continue to slide.

Lastly, another monkey wrench that could be thrown into the equation that could affect getting home loans is if Fannie Mae implements the right to pull credit up until the day of closing.  It can have a significant impact on a purchaser’s ability to close on their loan if their credit score goes down by just one point.  As we know, it is monkey see monkey do in the lending arena so others may implement this same strategy to limit the number of defaults in the future.  Stay tuned for further details.

So, what do you do?  Work!  As previously mentioned – people are buying and selling houses here in Northern Virginia – get out there and network.  Create urgency – rates won’t stay this low forever, prices will increase and if you can afford the home today, buy it.  Be a professional Realtor and set yourself apart from others in the industry and you will survive in any market.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Why do sales people fail?

Leave a comment

Why do sales people fail, survive or thrive is a question I hear more often in the one-on-ones conducted with sales people in our office lately.  In real estate there are several factors that make up the answer.  The top producers in the business take each one of these tips to heart and work them to the best of their ability day in and day out consistently which helps them attain high levels of productivity and success.  Let’s review what is important to take you to the next level and what you need to avoid to become a sales failure:

Ø  The number one issue is lead generation.  They don’t do enough prospecting, networking or whatever it takes to get in front of people looking to buy or sell your product.  Without someone to sell to, there will be no income generated.  All of the knowledge in the world is useless if you have no one to communicate it to.  Get busy getting clients. 

Ø  Next is they can’t communicate their value proposition clearly enough to their client or potential clients.  Develop an elevator speech to build your value proposition around to becoming a success.

Ø  Also, they don’t know the inventory or preview homes which prevent them from keeping their finger on the pulse of the market and being able to communicate with someone a good deal when asked.

Ø  Additionally, they don’t have systems in place for success.  It is critical to have systems for prospecting, following up, following through, handling internet leads, or getting a sale to settlement.  If systems are in place, they are antiquated.  Get busy streamlining your systems to make yourself more efficient.

Ø  They don’t seek out coaching or accountability.  It is so important to ask for guidance, help, and direction so you can grow you business.  Taking counsel from your self can only get you so far.  You need to have someone with experience to bounce ideas off, help hold you accountable and give you advice to get you to the next level.

Ø  Salespeople who fail don’t further their education.  They don’t complete their continuing education, attend trainings or seminars, or obtain designations which are an integral part of success.  On the job training will only get you so far in this business.  Remember, when you stop learning you stop earning.

Ø  Because of the aforementioned items, they have difficulty understanding market trends.  Is it a buyer’s or seller’s market and why is so important.  They don’t know their own numbers, their company’s numbers, numbers relating to the marketplace, their competition’s numbers, etc. so it makes it difficult to give the right advice when buying or selling a home.

Ø  They fail to have proper database management.  Who is good, who needs to be deleted and most importantly, who to add to their sphere is paramount to success.

Ø  The communication level and message sent to their clients, sphere, and other agents will help ensure success.  How frequently, what is communicated, and when is it communicated sets top producing agents apart from the rest of the crowd.

Ø  Practice, practice, practice.  Either they don’t have or don’t rehearse scripts.  Get a partner and rehearse over coming common objections, listing presentations, buyer presentations, etc.  Video these meetings and critique your performance.  If you haven’t done homework how will you graduate to the next level?

Ø  They don’t have a business plan.  If you don’t have a plan, how will you know what your priorities are for your day?  How will you know what you want to accomplish?  The importance of a business plan cannot be overlooked and must be taken from your head and put on paper.

Ø  The right attitude is so important and top producers have the proper attitude.  Have a can do, positive attitude each and every day.  We all have set backs in life but it is how you approach and respond to these situations that set you apart from others in the field. 

Ø  Salespeople who fail lack taking responsibility for themselves and their actions.  It is the market, interest rates and loan programs, their clients just don’t get it, the weather, or so many more.  Take responsibility for your lack of productivity by implementing the right strategies previously mentioned in this blog.

Ø  They don’t manage their time well.  They put out fires consistently, don’t prioritize their activities and the day passes them by too often.  You must work each day to be intentional in your efforts.  Use your time wisely.  Block out time to get your most important things done without interruption.  Everyone has the same amount of time every day, it is how you use it that separates the good from the great.

You can see why it is easy to fail, there are so many areas of relevance and importance.  They are all intertwined and relate to each other on many levels.  If you take the time to analyze what you are doing in each area and improve daily in them, you will take your career to new heights.  Challenge yourself to improve and the results will follow.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Make an Impact!

Leave a comment

The question arises often.  How do you make an impact in life, on others, or in your business?  There are several components to having an impact on others – be an excellent listener, be charitable with your time, efforts and knowledge, and create inspiration in others to achieve more for themselves.  To impact others, you must lead an intentional life and leave a lasting impression upon them that encourages them to change themselves, positively.  Let’s look at the makeup of the word impact.

Intelligence.  Gain as much information and knowledge in your chosen field as you possibly can.  Read books, newsletters, solicit information from others, attend seminars, trainings, and just get involved.  The more you know, the more you grow and the more you can contribute to others to help others them succeed.  Through gaining intelligence and sharing your knowledge with others are the first steps to having an impact on others.

Motivation and inspiration are key to all aspects of a life worth living.  You must be motivated to achieve more for yourself and push yourself.  Have the desire to want more and the discipline to achieve more so when others see you in action, your determination and results motivate them to want to succeed.  Do the right things and say the right things and you will have an impact.

Positive attitudes are contagious.  Your outlook on each day, what you say and how you say it leave a lasting impression on others so make it positive.  By finding opportunities with challenging situations, communicating the “learning” experience in mistakes, conveying an optimistic outlook on the future, and having an upbeat attitude are ways to share your positive attitude.  Impact others by sharing your smile and positive attitude throughout each day.

Actions speak louder than words.  You must walk the talk.  Be generous, volunteer your time to charities, show up early, stay late and work, and share your experiences with others.  Have a plan, follow the plan, be held accountable to stick with your plan and results will happen.  This is what will impact others.  When you put your money where your mouth is, people will take notice and respond.

Clarity of purpose is critical to your success.  What do you want to do and why?  Seek to understand and be understood.  When you are focused, have direction and purpose in life, the side effect will be having an impact on others.  Know what you want to achieve in life then set out to accomplish it – clarity is critical.

Teach others through what you see, do, and hear.  It helps clarify your purpose.  Communicate what the right thing to do in each situation from what you have learned.  A life spent educating and helping others will leave a lasting impression that will impact them in many ways.

To live a life with purpose, direction, and intention you will automatically impact others, positively. Inspire others to be great, do the right thing, and you will leave a legacy for others to follow.  Right now, it is your responsibility to just do it.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

To Add or Not to Add…that is the Question

1 Comment

In a recent conversation with one of our buyers, I was asked, “Why didn’t we add in a response time to our offer”?  This is a curious question many of us have been faced with when helping buyers and sellers make the right decisions when buying or selling homes.  The clause should be implemented or not depending upon the scenario you are faced with when writing an offer. 

Here is what needs to be considered prior to adding it to your offer: 

1.  The first area to consider is the communication level between you and the listing agent or selling agent.  Are the lines of communication open and responsive, or is it difficult to track the agent down to get an answer to the most basic question.  Does the “other” agent have a reputation of being quick to respond and get answers to you quickly or is there a lack of communication and responsiveness.  If it is the latter, then in these situations, add the clause.

2.  The length of time the house has been on the market… has it been on for a long time without any offers or has it received a lot of interest?  The shorter the time frame and the greater the interest, then more than likely you should implement the clause.  For a home that sits on the market for a longer time with little interest, then I would typically not implement the clause.

3.  The strength of the offer presented.  Is the offer close to list price or at list price with all the terms that the seller is willing to accept?  Or, is the offer low, with multiple contingencies? Are your buyers willing to be “flexible” on their terms in order to buy the home and come to an agreement with the sellers?  If the case relates to the first scenario, then definitely add the clause.

4.  Are the buyers from out of town and on a tight time frame that requires a quick response?  If yes, then add the clause.

5.  What is the tone do you want to set with regards to the negotiations?  Do you want to set an urgent tone and one of little flexibility or do you want the lines of communication to be open and flexible and willing to come to an agreement?  If yours relates to the first scenario, then again, add the clause.

6.  Are your clients truly interested in the house or are they trying to get a deal? And have the attitude of “if they get it, they get it, if they don’t, they will move on”?  If this is the case, then you would definitely want to add the clause.

Finally, each contract has its own particular situation, as does each buyer and Realtor involved in the transaction, so carefully consider what you are encountering prior to adding a “respond by clause” to your offer.  It isn’t always in the client’s best interest to add – “sellers/buyers to respond within 24, 48, or 72 hours or the contract is null and void”.  Ask questions, analyze the parties involved and what is the right decision to get your clients the sale!  Get it?  Got it? Good!

What are your priorities?

1 Comment

You must have priorities in your daily routines if you want to achieve ultimate success.  The question is, how do you determine your priorities?  There are several pieces to the puzzle you need to analyze to help you prioritize your activities.  Let’s break it down.

Planning – you must have a plan of action to set out and accomplish goals.  Without a plan, you have no direction and therefore, you won’t know what a priority is and what isn’t.  Start by developing, writing down and reviewing your goals, so you know where to start with your activities.

Responsibility – you know you must take responsibility for your actions.  Think about what is the right thing to do at any given time, what the results will be and why you have to “Just do it” to help you develop a pattern of success.  By taking responsibility for you and your actions you will gain the confidence necessary to set your priorities.

Intuitive – you must have a gut feeling that helps direct you as well.  You have to know to do the right thing to get your objectives accomplished.  You need to understand what is the highest and best use of your time and be the most effective and efficient you can be at a given time.

Organize – you must have organization in your life to help determine what your priorities are and what needs to be accomplished.  If your schedule, desk or life is disorganized, you won’t even know where to begin as everything seems so overwhelming.  Organize yourself and your life and your priorities will become clearer to you.

Responsive – when you have organization and clarity in your goals, plans of action, and life, you can be more responsive to what you encounter versus being reactive to situations and what may occur during your day.  To respond is positive to react is negative – be positive, it can only help you.

Initiative – you must take the first steps and have the desire and initiative to want to accomplish great things in your life to build a legacy.  Start with to do lists, have tasks you want to accomplish and by when, cross them off and add more or revise depending upon your results or the market.  The idea here is to start and take the initiative to be successful.  You are responsible for you – no one can give you initiative – you have to want it.

Training – you must train yourself to put this into your routine.  It isn’t easy and it takes discipline to accomplish this.  Train and teach yourself to do what needs to be done to get this accomplished.  By training yourself on these disciplines, they will become habits that will lead you down the path of success.

Insight – by learning more, getting educated, and communicating with other successful people, you will gain insight to know and understand what the right thing to do is at any given time.  Insight will give you clarity and purpose on what to do next and why.

Excellence – by striving to achieve excellence in all areas of your life you will have better direction and purpose which will also help you develop your priorities.

Start – today, don’t delay.  Get it done.  Make setting priorities a priority.  You have to start sometime – why not today, right now?

Now that your puzzle is complete, take the time to think what is important to you and why and what must happen to get you to where you want to go in life.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Life after the government support for real estate

Leave a comment

Well, all the hype over the government’s propping up of the real estate market is over and where do we stand?  It may be too early to tell as it has only been one week but in speaking with lenders, title companies, home inspectors and  – oh yeah – Realtors too, the market continues to hum along.  Contracts are being written and accepted.  What appears to remain hot are the lower price ranges (those below $400,000) and the upper price ranges ($800,000-$1,000,000 in some areas) so it appears to be business as usual – so far – for these sellers. 

The sellers we are concerned about are the ones priced between $400,000 and $800,000 as it seems in many areas these housing prices haven’t found their bottom of the market yet.  Going forward it will be critically important to pay particular attention to this segment of the market as we are starting to see the beginning stages of the foreclosures being released into the market.   More BPO’s (Broker Price Opinions) are being requested, Bank of America has hired a third party vendor to help with their release of foreclosures and Notice of Trustee sales are flooding the papers.  And from what we notice, they are going to fall into the $400,000-$800,000 price ranges – not the lower end as we saw in 2008.  From all indications, we are looking at an alarming number of foreclosures hitting our market prior to the third quarter of this year – not as many as we saw in 2008 but close to those levels.  This will have a definite impact on prices.

As far as rates are concerned, mortgage interest rates hit a 6 week low this week suggesting that private investors have filled in for the government in their purchasing of mortgage backed securities.  In addition, there have been several reports stating that the government will continue to keep the Federal Funds rate at or near 0-.25% which should continue to encourage investors to buy these securities and keep rates low for home owners through the end of the year which is good news for housing.

How will the end of the home buyer tax credit impact the market?  In a recent survey of first time buyers conducted by SunTrust, they found that only 10% of these buyers purchased their homes because of the home buyer tax credit.  Low interest rates, affordable house prices, desire to own versus rent were the main reasons why decided to purchase over any other.  A good deal is a good deal.  If the market shows signs of slowing, let’s keep an eye on seller and builder incentives to lure buyers into their properties – right now, we don’t see any but only time will tell.  For now, we don’t believe our market will be severely impacted by this incentive ending.

Another bright spot in our market that will help us continue to sell houses is the “new and improved” short sale process through HAMP to HAFA.  These programs will help qualified sellers have the ability to get approval on short sales much more quickly than in previous years.  This streamlined process will not only help sellers avoid foreclosure but also help buyers get into homes and protect neighborhood values.  We are anticipating this to be a tremendous asset in selling houses going forward.

All things being considered, now is a great time to be a buyer or seller in the Northern Virginia Market.  It is important to stay on top of the trends that affect real estate, watch inventory levels and the type of inventory coming on the market, and lastly, track the number of buyers in the market place to help buyers and sellers make the right decisions when considering real estate.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Avoiding the “Me Monster”

Leave a comment

So many people I encounter have the ego and attitude that they know it all – they take counsel from themselves and don’t seek advice of others – they go about it as a lone ranger thinking they have all the answers – they don’t participate in events – don’t attend networking functions – attend trainings or association events.  They are constantly telling and not asking to get inclusion from others or solicit opinions.  Then, when they are so far behind the eight ball with a situation, they reach out to others and demand others help them immediately when they haven’t helped others or participated in the process mentioned above or many others for that matter. 

Why does this occur?  Why is it that people regard themselves as so self important and egotistical that they treat others with disdain?  Are unsupportive of others?  Treat others like others are there to support them but they don’t need to reciprocate even when asked to participate and be included.  Where does the lack of respect factor for others originate?  These are difficult questions to answer, but are critical to answer if you are one of those that incorporate the “me monster”.  These types of individuals have fleeting success – if any at all.  They have very few “true” friends or confidants to rely on.  And lastly, their business is more transactional based versus a business built on relationships and referrals because they don’t have the ability to bond and develop the right type of relationships. 

How do you know if you have fallen into this trap?  One example is, if you find yourself not listening and you talk over people in conversations, especially over the phone.  When in person, take time to notice others reactions and what happens with them when you are speaking.  Do they cross their arms, roll their eyes or look away or is there any other negative body language they exhibit?  If so, stop, apologize for interrupting and listen.  Your voice is music to your ears not theirs – let them speak and you will realize how much their voice is music to their ears and more success will come your way.

The next example is when you enter a room.  Do you make an appearance because you are loud, obnoxious and inconsiderate?  If so, you will push people away.  It is better to walk into a room and be humble yet confident and with a smile than a loud, look at me entrance.  You will be noticed either way but why not be noticed for what you are not rather than what you are acting like?  Remember to notice and acknowledge others when you enter a room and don’t be noticed when entering a room for higher levels of achievement in business.

Next, are you telling others how it is all the time and saying “listen to me”, “no, this is how it is”, or perhaps, “that’s not right, it’s like this” or similar type responses to what people are saying.  Think and listen to yourself and notice how often do you say me, my or I?  If you notice any of these behaviors regularly in your speech patterns, stop.  Have an open mind to what others are saying and reposition yourself by asking if they might consider your ideas or thoughts.  Also, incorporate we and us into your conversations.  By opening yourself to hearing what others say, paying attention to new ideas and refraining from being a know it all, you will engage more people and in the end gaining more influence over them. 

Next, are you a loner?  Do you work at home?  Do you leave your office or just sit behind a desk?  Are you on the computer all day?  You need to reach out to others and participate in office events, trainings, networking opportunities and other platforms where you can learn, meet, and open yourself to new ideas or concepts.  Go in with the attitude of “I know nothing” and be a sponge.  It is well known that if you go into these situations with an open mind, you will get a least one new bit of information you didn’t know before or pick up a new way to improve what you are doing in your business or at least meet one new person that you can bounce ideas off in the future. Have a hunger and desire to learn something – everyday.  Remember, no one knows it all.  Participate in life, communicate with others and better results will follow.

And just a few final thoughts, be nice, be kind, be respectful, and be thankful.  Give first to others, then ask for help.  Show sincere interest in others and they will want to help you in your time of need.  Remember to think it is all about them, not you.  Don’t get engulfed by the all knowing, all telling “Me Monster” and you will achieve greatness.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

How do you merge?

Leave a comment

I was recently driving and about to get on Route 66 west in rush hour traffic when the car in front of me slammed on their breaks instead of speeding up and mergeing into traffic nearly causing a three or four car pileup.  My question is why?  Is it fear?  Uncertainty of how to do it properly?  Did they lose their focus?  Is their blind spot too big?  Or do they just don’t know what they are doing?  It got me thinking, this is a lot like the careers of many people in our business.  They slam on their breaks in business.  What causes this reaction in business?  Many of the same issues previously mentioned – fear, process, focus, blind spots and uncertainty.

Let’s review what it takes to have a successful career so you can merge properly into business of real estate.  You must have a transition to greatness that is much like merging onto a highway.  Check your surroundings, pick the right spot, give it gas and go and don’t look back!  You must be willing to get out of your comfort zone and alleviate your fears – fear of making mistakes, rejection, failure and even success.  You must take the time to learn the process so you have the confidence in yourself to explain how the business works.  Basically, you must educate yourself to educate others.  You must stay focused by having goals, action plans and daily activity sheets to follow so you have a path to success.  Analyze your competition and know what they are doing so you don’t have a blind spot when you go up against someone on an appointment.  It has been said that knowledge is power but the use of knowledge is truly powerful in my opinion.  You must give the effort – you can’t wait for things to happen or you will get slammed from behind.  Get out in front of people, prospect to get clients and build your database.  Give top notch service.  If you don’t know something – say you don’t know but tell them you will get the answer, then follow up on your commitment and let them know your answer.  If you make a mistake – admit it then correct it to build trust.  Have the systems in place to follow up so you stay in front of your clients and provide them with valuable information so you stay a trusted resource.

The business is really as easy as merging on to a highway if you know how to do it properly.  Of course, there will be potholes along the way or an aggressive driver that won’t let you in but make the necessary adjustments, then put your foot on the accelerator and go!  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Here we grow again…

1 Comment

This tag line is very appropriate for many different reasons.  First, let’s start with the Northrop Grumman’s move to Northern Virginia from California.  Northrop Grumman had been looking to relocate their company to this region because they have over 20,000 employees in Virginia, Maryland and DC and was looking for a different presence here in the area.  There will be approximately 300 high level executives moving to the area and there is no doubt, additional subcontractors and service providers of Northrop Grumman will move here as well.  Kudos to the leadership of Virginia in capturing such a valuable resource!

Additionally, in an economic report by George Mason’s Center for Regional Analysis, the Washington area’s economy will double over the next 20 years bringing in more than 1,000,000 new jobs and perhaps  upwards as many as 1.6 million to our region.  The jobs that will be created will be government – especially defense, domestic security, and financial regulatory agencies.  Along with these new jobs, a total number of new people in excess of 1.7 million will be moving to the area.  This is a good news, bad news scenario – good that the area will continue to grow and it should have a positive outlook on the housing market but a bad news scenario for roads, infrastructure and how to accommodate this growth.  The area planners have some work to do!

Next, let’s review New Home Sales.  Month over month sales of new homes jumped 26.9% in March – the largest increase in nearly 50 years!  New Home Sales had been in a four month slump coupled with a record low of housing starts in February; this segment of our market got a strong shot in the arm with this excellent news!  Let’s see how these numbers are affected by the home buyer tax credit ending this week and see if sustainable growth will occur.

Now on to existing sales…existing home sales rose as well.  The number increased by 6.8% in March – this is the ninth straight month of increase in sales over previous year ago levels each month.  This is a result of favorable market conditions – great rates, lower prices, and the homebuyer tax credit amongst other things.  Let’s keep this pace headed in a positive direction!

We must also speak about inventory levels.  They too have been increasing every week since the last week of December.  It is important to keep an eye on this number and how it affects pricing on a number of fronts.  In the Northern Virginia region – the inventory of existing homes for sale in week ending April 23 was 7,252…stay tuned.

And the last piece of good news – and it isn’t about an increase – it is about relative stabilization in mortgage interest rates.  Many expected rates to shoot up at the end of the government’s purchasing of mortgage backed securities but it hasn’t really happened.  Interest rates were just below 5% in March and have stayed in the 5.125 – 5.25% range over the last 3 to 4 weeks.  Let’s hope private investors continue to buy mortgage backed securities and the government keeps the funds rate low as well.

It is important for professional Realtors to keep up-to-date with the market and market conditions to keep their buyers and sellers completely informed on what is happening so they can make the right decisions when buying and selling homes – get in the game of learning more!  Get it?  Got it?  Good!